


This War Will Break Us Apart

by elizabeth66



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin has a headache, And Anakin most definitely is not happy about it, Gen, Human Disaster Anakin Skywalker, Padme definitely taught Ahsoka how to mess with people's lives, Protective Ahsoka Tano, Sad Obi-Wan Kenobi, They're terrible at taking care of themselves, Tired Obi-Wan Kenobi, obi wan has a headache
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:28:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24829102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizabeth66/pseuds/elizabeth66
Summary: As the Clone Wars rage around them, Anakin and Obi-Wan are just trying their best. When Obi-Wan lets Anakin sleep for once instead of waking him up to work, Anakin is his usual overdramatic self and blows it out of proportion, which gives both of the Jedi headaches. Which they ignore, of course.Oh, and Ahsoka's learned a few political tricks from Senator Amidala about messing with other people's lives, and where better to practice them than on a ship with nothing else to do!
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 6
Kudos: 103





	This War Will Break Us Apart

**Author's Note:**

> So I posted this about... five months ago?? Anyway I reread it a couple days ago and realized I did not like it at all, (probably because I hate editing so I never have the willpower to do it) so I edited it a lot and rewrote a few portions. Enjoy!

Obi Wan paused, deflecting the most recent blow of the lightsaber from his knighted padawan and took a step back. Anakin Skywalker was a challenging dueling partner to anyone in the galaxy, even the man who had sparred with him for years. Parry after parry, block after block, the two made their way through the maze of boxes that held the rations for their men. 

Anakin’s attacks weren’t made with the sharpness of usual. The galaxy had been in conflict for two years, and adding the pressure of protecting a sixteen year old to leading men in intergalactic conflict wasn’t doing anything good for his health.

But no matter how quick or sharp their movements were, Obi Wan thought as he took another step back, it was moments like these that a sense of normalcy could be found, no matter how fleeting. Where, blue blade to blue blade, they could leave the conflict behind and become the Jedi they were always supposed to be. 

Anakin never lasted long when he couldn’t sleep. He would roll over, stare at the ceiling for a  _ solid  _ five minutes, then slowly creep out of his quarters. Currently on  _ The Negotiator _ , he, Ahsoka, and a few platoons from the 501st had joined the 212th while the rest of the 501st was sent to aid Master Luminara, who’s current mission didn’t require Jedi assistance, just that of troopers. 

Obi Wan lasted a bit longer. Usually he would fall into a light doze, then wake up 10 minutes later when the ship would groan and clank. He didn’t toss and turn like Anakin, just silently laid there while his mind raced. Most of the time it only took half an hour for the one nicknamed “the negotiator” to lose the debate with himself and get up to be productive. 

Ahsoka was the exception of the three Jedi. She slept like a rock, no matter where they were or what was going on. Anakin didn’t mind, for he knew she needed her rest  _ and _ he didn’t mind a little peace and quiet every once in a while. 

So that was how, with most of the ship asleep, Anakin and Obi-Wan were sparring in the cargo bay. Their lightsabers were on the lowest setting possible, for they had found out from experience that even when not on the highest setting the lightsabers could disable the control panels on the repulsorlifts. And so after too many instances of Cody forcing Obi-Wan out of his quarters to “come move the cargo yourself if you’re gonna break the control panel,” Obi Wan had discovered that after a bit of tweaking the lightsabers could be put on an even lower setting that didn’t damage  _ any _ electronics. 

The dance between the two continued until Obi Wan was completely backed into a wall. He ducked and managed to spin around his former student and point the tip of his lightsaber at his throat. 

“You’re off your game tonight,” Obi Wan said as he deactivated his saber and clipped it to his belt.

Anakin responded by rolling his eyes. “Come on. We were in battle  _ yesterday. _ Not everyone can be on their top sparring game that soon after a battle.”

Obi Wan chuckled a bit and headed towards the ladder that would lead out of the dark storage bay. 

“A very useful skill if you plan on continually ending up down here, my very young padawan.”

Ahsoka was surprised when she woke on her own accord, not to a comm beeping with a call to action from her master. A wartime scarcity. 

She stretched her arms and yawned as she rolled over to look at the chrono on the wall. 9:20! Things must really be going well if Anakin had let her sleep in for once. 

But as she walked into the briefing room that she could sense her master in, it was immediately obvious the opposite was true. 

Her master and grandmaster were situated on opposite sides of a table, datapads scattered around them. They were in varying states of distress. 

Master Skywalker was slumped over, with tousled hair and mostly closed eyes. She couldn’t tell if he was even awake. Master Kenobi, on the other hand, was in the most relaxed position she’d ever seen him in, boots on the table and leaning back in his chair, cup of tea in his hand. 

Obi Wan just inclined his head to her, looking no worse for the wear. “Good morning Ahsoka. Care to join us? I have extra tea!”

Anakin snapped his head up after she took a few more steps into the room. 

“Snips! Ahsoka! What’re  _ you _ doing here so early?” 

Her master had obviously been sleeping for a while, for the only time he talked that fast was when he was angry or not-yet-awake. And judging from the lack of a venomous expression on his face, Ahsoka assumed it was the latter. 

“Master..?” Ahsoka asked tentatively. It was always better to proceed with caution on the off chance she was wrong about the sleepy-not-angry thing. “It’s 9:30. A perfectly reasonable hour for me to be here.” 

_ Here it comes,  _ Ahsoka thought as Anakin looked at Obi Wan, still casually looking at his datapad. 

“Masterrrr...” Anakin growled. 

Obi Wan kept his eyes on the screen in front of him. “You needed your sleep Anakin. It was as simple as that.”

“Master. What about you? And my men? They don’t have the luxury of me sleeping. That could’ve  _ endangered  _ their _ lives.” _

“I’m sorry, what?!” Ahsoka interjected into the conversation before her master completely went off the rails at Obi Wan. “What’s up with our men? What happened? Why are you guys here at 9:30 in the morning when you’ve obviously gotten no sleep?” She internally cringed after the last part. Her master obviously  _ had _ gotten sleep. And wasn’t happy about it. 

Obi Wan kept his eyes on the datapad, but it didn’t seem like he had actually read anything since she walked in. 

Anakin ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “We’ve lost all contact with Master Luminara, her men, and the 501st. And no - the signal is fine. We contacted the local governor of the planet they were on - he said they had loaded up their ships with haste and left the planet yesterday. They have not been seen since, and were supposed to stay for at least another week. Something’s gone wrong, and we don’t know what.”

Ahsoka was still trying to process this information - two regiments and a master gone without a trace? - when she spied Master Kenobi with a grim sort of smile on his face. 

“I let you sleep, Anakin, because I was able to get in contact with Rex.” Obi Wan said softly. “And didn’t want you to do anything rash, as I knew you would.” 

Anakin’s venomous glare held steady, but he knew his priorities. Instead of yelling at his old master for not  _ waking him up when an important call came in _ , as one would be expected to do, he decided to problem solve now, yell later. 

“And. What. Did. He. Say. Master?” Anakin ground out. 

Obi Wan finally looked up from the datapad. “The 501st was sent to help Master Luminara because her job was to control rebel insurgents on a valuable Republic planet. The government threatened to join the Separatists if aid was not given. Usually the 41st would be able to hold their own, but they were spread so thin-“

“So thin the 501st was needed if only because the presence of clones had seemed to diffuse any idea of rebellion. I know what the plan was,  _ master. _ ” Anakin spat. “So where are my men, and what. Did. Rex. Say.” 

When Ahsoka looked into Anakin’s eyes, they seemed as if they were pools of lava, glowing with rage. 

Even Obi Wan knew they were teetering on the edge of a very steep cliff here. So he didn’t waste any time continuing on. 

“Rex managed to get a transmission through. They’re still on the planet, the government already allied with the Separatists, trying to lure us there by cutting off communications and telling us they left. Rex and the 41st are handling the situation, but Luminara told us to specifically  _ not _ to aid them. That would bring them too much trouble. So here we are. We are continuing to our original destination and nothing else will change. And that’s that.” 

Obi Wan sighed as he stood up and looked directly at Anakin. 

“Since nothing about our plans changed, I let the Republic’s war hero finally get some much needed rest before you run yourself to the ground, Anakin. Because that’s not gonna help your troops or the war or your Padawan _.  _ So you’re not going to do anything about the 501st, and you’re going to deal with it.” 

And with that, he spun on his heel and left the room. 

“Well that was... unexpected,” Ahsoka said as she looked at her master. 

He just stared at the doorway in shock, the malice in his eyes gone. 

“You can say that again,” he grumbled. “One second he was telling me what I missed and the next minute he’s lecturing me. I’d better follow him.”

And he left the room, with not another word to his padawan. She just shook her head. _ I have now idea how those two lasted this long together,  _ she thought. 

_ No idea at all.  _

Obi Wan made it to his quarters before he fully realized what he’d done. Letting his emotions get the best of him… well, it’s not like he hadn’t done that before, so there was no use dwelling on it. Of course, he knew he probably  _ should’ve _ woken Anakin up, but it was just as he had said. If Anakin wasn’t at the top of his game every battle, there was always the chance they could lose men, lose a planet, or, worst of all, lose Anakin himself. How would the Jedi council react if the Chosen One was killed in battle because he wasn’t at his full strength? Obi Wan would never forgive himself. Not just because he was the Chosen One, but because, well, it was  _ Anakin.  _ There was no Obi Wan without Anakin. They were two halves of a whole, two binary stars perpetually orbiting each other. If one died, the other would too. 

Obi Wan rubbed his eyes and laid back. This war hadn’t even been going on that long and he was already so tired from it. Every day there was a chance Anakin or Ahsoka or Cody didn’t come back. He sighed and decided to meditate. But as he tried to clear his head, one thought kept coming back, over and over.  _ Why can’t this just be over already.  _

Anakin leaned his head on the door to his master’s quarters. The cool metal helped ease the headache that was already pulsing being his temples. He needed to go in, he knew. Apologize. Obi Wan was only trying to do what was best for him. But every time he thought that, he also thought about his men, without his guidance, and the anger flared up inside him. 

He stood there for four minutes before he decided to walk away.

Ahsoka didn’t know what to do when her master came back so soon. He looked exhausted, even after his impromptu nap that morning. He leaned against the doorway with his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Snips, could you just... I don’t know. Go do some sparring with a droid. Meditate. We’re stuck in space for a while longer, so just... be productive. Stay out of my way.”

And he left. 

Ahsoka wasn’t hurt by the last sentence. She had a way of getting entangled in whatever project her master was working on, usually resulting in a safety protocol review with Rex. 

Even with a ship as big as the Venator-class Star Destroyer, there wasn’t much she could do to stay entertained. Though, she mused, she could simply try to make Anakin talk to his master, for it seemed as if he hadn’t when he returned… yes. Ahsoka knew  _ exactly _ what she was going to do with her time. Practice a political skill that Senator Amidala had told her would come in handy more than once. Getting involved in other people’s business!

Ahsoka knocked on the door. 

“Anakin?”

“Sorry, master. It’s me.”

“Oh, Ahsoka. Come in.”

The door slid open, and Ahsoka almost laughed at the sight. Master Kenobi looked  _ worse _ than Skyguy, if that was even possible. 

_ This is the toll the war is taking on us, _ she thought.  _ We’re not meant to be generals. It’s breaking down the peacekeepers, the strong ones. The ones who never would’ve looked like this under any other circumstances.  _

She walked over to where he was propped up on his elbows on the bunk. “You ok master?” She asked. 

He just looked at her. 

_ He’s so young _ , she thought.  _ We’re all so young.  _

“I’m sorry Ahsoka. Yes, I’m fine. How’s Anakin?”

Ahsoka put her hand on his shoulder, about to tell him Anakin was fine, when her vision went black. 

_ Something terrible had happened. Someone had died - but, no. They were alive now. It had been a trick. Ahsoka remembered this moment. It had taken place after the whole Rako Hardeen incident.  _

_ She was in her quarters in the temple, and Master Kenobi walked in. When he spoke, his voice was rough and scratchy, as if he had not been using it for long.  _

_ “How’s Anakin?” he asked.  _

_ She just shook her head.  _

_ She wasn’t actually there this time, just watching. Master Kenobi was in the hospital wing of a ship, but not his own. There was a terrible feeling in the air. Something deadly had just happened. Jedi - Jedi? Jedi had been killed. The war - it was the war. It had started. This must’ve been after Geonosis.  _

_ “Anakin!” Master Kenobi shouted, sitting up straight and attempting to untangle himself from the wires and IV attached to him. Kix - Kix! - had to stop him. But there was no recognition in Master Kenobi’s eyes. Of course - Geonosis was the first time the clones had been deployed.  _

_ Kix finally got him to settle down. But there was still a frantic look in his eyes. _

_ “Dooku, Padmé... Oh Anakin...” he was still panicked. “How’s Anakin?”  _

_ Kix just shook his head and nodded at the bed across from Master Kenobi’s. It was her master, but his arm was all wrapped in bandages.  _

_ Obi Wan just put his head in his hands.  _

_ This time the scene was fuzzy. There was an air of uncertainty - as if the circumstances and setting were yet to be decided. _

_ It was actually her again - she wasn’t just watching.  _

_ This time, someone  _ had _ died. And Master Kenobi blamed himself, she could tell. But he couldn’t explain it to anyone - he wasn’t supposed to be this attached.  _

__ _ This must be the future, Ahsoka thought. She had no memory of this. _

_ He was looking out a window at the temple. The twinkling lights of Coruscant spread out before him, lighting up the night sky. He was the only one in the deserted hallway. Except her.  _

_ She ran up to him, but he didn’t look back. He simply continued to look out the window, hands clasped behind his back.  _

_ “How’s Anakin?” He asked softly.  _

_ Her voice sputtered. “Ma - Ana - what do you mean?! Nothing happened to him other than you wrecked one of his ships. He doesn’t care about that, he’s worried about you.” _

_ Obi Wan didn’t say anything, just shrugged and continued speaking with his too soft voice. “You never know with him, Ahsoka. One day there’ll be a time I leave him and he destroys the Jedi temple.” _

_ He chuckled, but his laugh caught in his throat and he fell silent again. _

_ For whoever knew how long, they stood at the window watching the world go on without them.  _

_ When the sun started to rise, Ahsoka’s vision went black. _

Ahsoka blinked at the light in front of her. 

“Ahsoka? Are you alright?”

It was Master Kenobi. The real one. 

“I - yeah. Yeah. Sorry, I don’t know...”

He smiled. “It’s alright. Go get some more sleep. You’ve earned it. But be in the briefing room at 17:00, we still need to give our report on the last battle.”

She tried to protest, but it was to no use. So much for trying to fix things between Master Kenobi and Master Skywalker. And she  _ was _ tired, even though it seemed as if she had just woken up. 

As she walked through the halls, the visions she saw haunted her. She knew he cared for her master.. More than he cared for himself. But Jedi can’t form attachments. So why-

Her thoughts were interrupted by her comm beeping. 

“Snips, we’re needed on the bridge. Come on.” 

__ _ “ _ Roger that.”

Perhaps her time practicing her “diplomatic” skills wasn’t over quite yet. 

The incessant beeping from Obi Wan’s comm was  _ not _ helping his headache. 

He sighed and clicked it. “Kenobi here.” 

“Sir.” It was Cody. “You’re needed on the bridge. Our hyperdrive generator’s acting up. We need to drop out and see what we can do about it.”

“Go ahead. Do you need my assistance?”

“This deep in Separatist territory it will be hard finding a safe system, and any help would be appreciated,” Cody responded. 

Obi Wan sighed. “I’m on my way.”

Obi Wan inclined his head to Anakin and Ahsoka. Anakin somehow looked worse than when he had woken up, which was not the desired effect at all. 

“Sir!” Cody saluted him as he made his way towards the others. 

“Cody, Anakin, Ahsoka. What do we have so far.’

Obi Wan stepped back to watch as his padawan pulled up a galaxy wide map and narrowed it down to their current sector. 

He smiled as Anakin launched into an explanation of the closest systems, where Separatist probe droids most likely were… his padawan had obviously been thinking this through.

When Anakin was still talking 4 minutes later, Obi Wan clasped Cody’s shoulder. His commander had a slightly startled expression on his face trying to comprehend what the Jedi was saying. His analysis of where to drop out was very elaborate. “Good luck Cody. Just don’t let him do anything too rash.” 

Cody cast him a pleading glance but Obi Wan just shrugged. He had too much to do and it seemed Anakin had it under control.

His headache was still there, steadily thrumming along with the ship as Obi Wan walked back to his quarters. Anakin hadn’t even acknowledged him. 

Part of him knew Anakin was overreacting, as he always did, but at the same time… ever since Obi Wan’s fake death the rift between the two had grown. Even small incidents like not waking Anakin up were blown out of proportion, driving the wedge deeper into the crack between the two. They were still binary stars, dependent on one another… there were simply other things pulling them away now. 

Nevermind that, there were other issues to attend to. The report to the council was this afternoon, but he had to  _ write _ it first, and take stock of their supplies and numbers after the battle, put in orders for resupplies- 

The ship rocked slightly as they dropped out of hyperspace. Obi Wan stilled, listening for any signs they had dropped into an unknown Separatist blockade, unlikely as it was. When he heard nothing, he continued to his quarters to get his work. He nodded at every clone he passed, heading who knows where, but his headache continued to grow. 

_ Get it together, Kenobi, you have things to do.  _

_ So many things to do. _

Anakin stood on the bridge with his Padawan beside him, an identical headache to his master’s disrupting his focus. 

Mechanics were getting to work on the hyperdrive, and it didn’t seem as if there were any immediate threats in this system. Just two uninhabited planets, orbiting a single star. 

__ The fact that his old master wasn’t on the bridge irrationally irritated Anakin. He was probably off doing some sort of useless meditation or scheming with the Council while Anakin did all the work.

Meanwhile, Ahsoka could feel the emotions radiating off her master. He was tired, angry, frustrated. She put her hand on his shoulder. 

“He’s working, master. You know that. You need to stop being angry. Nothing’s going to get better if you two both ignore each other.”

He rubbed his forehead. “I know, Snips, I just...” he looked at the nearest chrono. “We have four hours before our report. There’s nothing more we can do here so I’m going to go rest, and you can go spar or something.” 

Anakin left the bridge. As he strode through the corridors of the ship, he realized he hadn’t eaten for... 24 hours. He changed course and headed to the mess. It was crowded with troopers this time of day. 

The noise and clamor didn’t help his headache. He put his hand on his temple, trying to alleviate some of the pressure.

“General?” It was a trooper he didn’t know. One of the 212th, it seemed. “General. We received word from Captain Rex. His men and the 41st got off the planet ok... General?”

Anakin was trying to focus on the clone and what he was saying, but it was getting extremely difficult.  _ Did he say the 501st is ok? That’s great, really great… _

The clattering of the mess just kept getting louder and louder. Anakin tried to close his eyes...  _ it’s too bright. _

The trooper had a concerned look on his face, and then another clone showed up... or was he seeing double? 

It was the last thing he thought before his legs gave out and his vision went black. 

`Obi Wan looked again at the datapad in front of him, the numbers and figures blurring. He fought to remember the ratio of food-to-trooper needed. 

_ Then we need to add in the squads from the 501st... and then...  _

His head was still pounding, and there was so much to do, he hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten…

He got up and stumbled across the room, pinching the bridge of his nose.  _ You can’t have a headache now, not with so many things to do, come on Kenobi. Get it together.  _

He made it to the fresher and splashed some cold water on his face. There was a knock on his door, and Obi Wan pushed off from the sink and looked in the mirror. He looked terrible, he knew, but he couldn’t just ignore whoever was out there. He pushed the button to open the door. It was Cody. 

“General Kenobi, sorry to disturb you...” he cleared his throat. “The 41st and 501st made it out fine. They’re on their way to rendezvous with us here, so we’ll be in the system for a bit while we wait.”

Obi Wan grimaced. “Thank you Cody. That’s wonderful news.” 

His commander didn’t move. “Are you okay, sir?”

“Of course Cody. Now, I have work to do, but I’ll see you in a bit for the briefing?”

Even with his helmet on Obi Wan could see his commander’s look of skepticism, but Cody walked away anyway.  _ Good man _ .

Obi Wan leaned against the wall after he closed the door.  _ Just do some work, give your report, then you can rest. It’s not that much, Kenobi. Come on.  _

He slid down the wall until he was sitting against it. His eyes were so heavy.. and the darkness was so much better for the pain than the light...  _ maybe I’ll just rest for a little bit,  _ he thought.  _ Five minutes. That’s it.  _

_ That’s it.  _

Ahsoka smiled and crossed her arms at the sight in front of her. 

She was standing in the hospital wing, with her master on the bed to the left, and her grandmaster to the right. 

It was the next day, and they each had been sleeping for 20 hours now. She had given the Council the report, telling them the Masters were... indisposed. Which they were. With the combination of a force suggestion from her and sedatives from Kix, Ahsoka and Cody made sure that the overworked Jedi would not wake up before they were fully rested. 

There was only one other person in the wing. 

Sitting in a chair, looking at a datapad, Rex was looking no worse for the wear. The 501st had been dropped off that morning before Luminara and the 41st headed back out. 

Anakin groaned and rolled over in bed. His eyes fluttered open and landed on Rex. “Rex! Heard you guys got out alive.” 

Rex grinned at his general. 

“I heard  _ you  _ almost weren’t alive to welcome us back.”

It was only then that her master looked around him. 

“Oh Snips. What’d I do to end up here?”

Ahsoka smiled. “What’s the least thing you remember, master?” 

“I mean, I was hungry, so I went to the mess, someone told me you guys were fine... I had a headache... ah. Yep. Don’t remember much after that.” 

“The men told me you were looking a bit downtrodden and you were just rubbing your head before you collapsed completely. Remember how Master Kenobi told you to  _ not _ run yourself to the ground?”

Anakin looked at the figure on the other bed. “Well, looks like he didn’t follow his own advice then. What’s up with that?” he asked, pointing to his former master. 

As if on cue, Obi Wan propped himself up on his elbows. Rubbing his temples, he looked around at his welcome back party. “Kriff. Sorry. Pardon my language. What am I - things to do- report - wha- Anakin! Why’re you here?!” 

Ahsoka elbowed Rex and gestured to the door. It seemed that even without Senator Amidala’s tactics the pair would be just fine. Well, as fine as they could be in a war. The pair slid out of the room to let the former master and apprentice figure everything out. 

Obi Wan kept his hand on his head as he looked at Anakin. “Look, Anakin-”

“No. Master. I’m sorry. You were right. I was running myself to the ground, and it caught up with me. And if you had woken me up to catch Rex’s message, I probably would’ve screwed something up and gone after them. Though, I must ask, how did you end up here?”

Obi Wan chuckled a bit. “I guess I didn’t take my own advice. I had a lot of work to do along with a raging headache. Cody left after telling me Rex and the men were alright and I... I guess I decided to take a little nap. On the floor. I guess someone found me.” 

Anakin looked at his master. Obi Wan looked right back at him. 

And somehow, even though they were both pallid and exhausted and in the middle of a living hell called war, they decided to trust each other again. For they never knew when war would pull brother from brother, friend from friend. 

And they had to make the most of every second. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure I like the ending but it's fine
> 
> I might do this with the other work on my account and repost it. We'll just have to see. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
